A maze to amaze

Godfrey still is the best place to get lost in the corn, but there are worthy contenders

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You can do just about anything with corn — eat
it, feed your pigs with it, concoct bourbon whiskey with it, and most
recently, fill up your gas tank with it. But when the dog days of summer
yield to fall’s feel-good temperatures, there’s only one thing
to do with the yellow wonder: get lost in it.Autumn’s cornfield maze craze is on, with
several popping up right here in central Illinois. The small town of
Godfrey is a veteran in the maze-designing business, and this year Godfrey
brings out the big guns. The Godfrey Parks and Recreation Department invited
Brett Herbst and his crew from The MAiZE — the world’s largest
labyrinth-making operation, with nearly 200 cornfield creations in the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Portugal, Italy, and the United Kingdom
— to design, lay out, and cut this fall’s “Wild, Wild
West” theme into a seven-acre cornfield in Godfrey’s Glazebrook
Park. Herbst, a Brigham Young University agribusiness
graduate, founded The MAiZE in Utah in 1996 after reading about a fledgling
maze venture in Pennsylvania. When his first cornfield design drew 18,000
visitors in just three weeks, Herbst knew that the operation would be a
hit. “What surprised me more than anything is how
this has filled an entertainment gap that we didn’t even know
existed,” Herbst says on The MAiZE’s Web site. “People,
young and old, have thanked me time and time again for providing a source
of recreation that is fun for all ages, clean, educational and unique. “It’s somewhere you can have fun and
learn a little something about agriculture . . . It just seems to
appeal to everyone.” Kimberly Caughran, director of the Godfrey
parks-and-recreation department, says that the Great Godfrey Maze has
become wildly popular, bringing in nearly 15,000 visitors in 2006. She,
like Herbst, attributes this success to the widespread appeal of
cornfield-maze entertainment. “[Patrons] like it because it’s good
quality, wholesome family fun, and it’s pretty inexpensive,”
Caughran says. “This year we have a corn crib the kids can wallow
around in, and a chuckwagon, because it’s a cowboy theme, and
we’ll do special events to get more people in and make it special for
them.”On Aug. 31, 5:30-7:30 p.m., the Great Godfrey Maze
will host its grand opening party, followed by an outdoor movie screening
at 8 p.m.Beginning Sept. 1 and continuing through Oct. 28, the
maze will be open 6-10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, and 1
p.m.-dusk Sunday. During the Halloween Spooktacular, Oct. 12-28, the ghosts
of cowboys past will appear after sunset to haunt the maze. The annual Fall Corn Festival will be held at the
maze on Oct. 6 and will feature games, food vendors, and live music by the
Boneheads and Back in the Saddle. The day’s events will also include
an antique-tractor show, a mechanical bull, a corn-on-the-cob-eating
contest, a corn cook-off, and helicopter and hot-air-balloon rides. Admission for the maze costs $6 for adults and $4 for
children ages 6-11. For more information, go to www.greatgodfreymaze.com or
call 618-466-1483. Godfrey is located near Alton, about 90 miles
southwest of Springfield. Here are some corn-maze alternatives in the region: Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch Fall Corn Maze, Rantoul (Open daily in November). Near Decatur, the 12-acre “Dragon Heart”
corn maze at Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch offers a real challenge for
extreme labyrinth-wanderers. Designed like a big treasure hunt, the maze
has six checkpoints that visitors must locate before they can complete the
mission and find the exit. The one- to three-hour quest can also be
conducted by flashlight during “Moonlight Madness.” You can
also enjoy hayrides, reindeer tours, and cookouts by reservation at
Hardy’s. For hours and additional information, call 217-893-3407 or
visit www.reindeerranch.com.  Pumpkin Works, Paris (Sept. 15-Oct. 31).If you’re looking for variety, Pumpkin Works is
the place. In addition to two cornfield mazes, owners Paul and Sherry
Staley have constructed nine other labyrinths, including a dark-zone maze,
a multilevel maze, and a pipe maze. Eight of Pumpkin Works’ creations
are adult-challenging, five are wheel-chair accessible, and three are
mostly allergen-free. Along with the mazes you’ll find a pumpkin
patch, hayrides, a petting zoo, and a pumpkin sling. Prices, hours, and
other information can be found at www.pumpkinworks.com, or call
217-275-3327.  Didier Farms
Pumpkin Festival Corn Maze, Prairie View
(Sept. 22-Oct. 31). Designed specifically with kids in mind, the
five-acre cornfield maze at Didier Farms is user-friendly and takes less
than a half-hour to navigate. Owner John Didier says that he welcomes
11,000 to 12,000 students in October, most of them fifth-graders or
younger. The maze is open during the annual Pumpkinfest, so kids and their
families can also visit the pumpkin patch, try out pumpkin donuts, and
participate in fun activities and games. For more information, go to
www.didierfarms.com or call 847-634-3291. Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.